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Maryland v. Train

Maryland challenges EPA's issuance of a permit to Camden, New Jersey for the continued ocean dumping of sewage sludge at a site off Cape May. The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act requires the functional equivalent of environmental impact analysis in conjunction with permit issuance and site selection for ocean dumping, and a full NEPA impact statement was thus not required in this case. The Administrator's discretion to dispense with hearings in the permit process is narrowly circumscribed, however, and his failure to hold public hearings on the Camden permit was erroneous. The court, therefore, orders EPA to hold a hearing on the dumping permit, but refuses to grant an injunction against dumping. EPA was justified in fearing dire environmental and health effects if Camden, because of a ban on ocean disposal, was forced to discharge its sludge into the Delaware River.